Navigating the dreamscape

Tag Archives: creepy

One of the strangest things I’ve noticed in my dreams is that certain periods in my life bring about dreams that seem to take place in their own special setting. I will go through months to maybe years with numerous dreams occurring in one unique dreamscape. It seems to shift when I have a major life change. Okay pretty much everything changes at once. A new job, a different boyfriend, a big move; it’s like I’m a totally different person.

Maybe the dreamscape is somewhat responsible for my ill feelings in any given real-world situation, or maybe it’s my mind’s way of letting me know there is trouble I’m not handling. I’ve had some absolutely unsettling dreamscapes, like the one with all the cemeteries and the big wooden dining table with preserved arms and legs stowed in drawers beneath it. You might classify that as a nightmare, but it didn’t quite evoke the same emotional response as nightmares I had when I was younger. There didn’t appear to be any immediate danger, just a creepy vibe. After returning to the same setting a number of times, it seemed less important. The roads I traveled still had the same obstacles, but I’d been down them enough to know just how to get where I was going.

There is one dreamscape which involves a trip into the city, and in order to get there, I have to crawl across thin, rusty pipes just a few feet above the water in a vivid green swamp. Once I’ve gotten through that, I’ve got to cross train tracks that are almost always busy before getting to the edge of the city where I can drive. To get where I need to be, I have to drive on what looks like a rollercoaster loop, except it’s just part of the paved road. Finally, I arrive at a large mall with three wings. Many of the stores are closed, but there are some that I can’t help visiting every time I dream it. There is a food court, but it’s built somewhat like a movie theater (there’s one of those too). I’d describe the mall as dark and struggling.

Some dreamscapes are easier to understand, like school. The campus layout may be a bit different, but it’s pretty common to dream you’re back in school again. When I have these kinds of dreams, I’ve always forgotten my schedule and have a feeling I’ve skipped a whole semester of my math class. That seems fair considering math was one of my worst subjects.